Connors State head coach Bill Muse is at the center of controversy after the death of college basketball player Ethan Dietz. He either has a history of questionable judgement or is completely oblivious when it comes to head injuries.
This most recent tragedy is just the latest example.
The college basketball program in Warner, Oklahoma must be investigated. It could get litigious.
What happened to Ethan Dietz?
As of right now, there is not an official cause of death for 20-year-old sophomore. The Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is going to release its findings in the official report.
However, we can get a general idea of what happened based on the timeline of events.
Connors State forward Ethan Dietz took an elbow to the head during the college basketball game at Grayson College on Nov. 22 and showed immediate discomfort. One of his teammates had to help him off of the court. He very checked back into the game after about two minutes on the bench.
Although Dietz continued to play, it was very clear on the broadcast that he was dazed and confused. His coaches either did not notice or ignored multiple instances where their injured player grabbed at his head or tried to shake off the cobwebs. He eventually took himself out of the game with approximately 12 minutes left in the second half and sat alone on the bench with a towel over his head.
Ethan Dietz tragically passed away in the hospital three days later. A vigil was held in his honor on Monday.
Connors State head coach Bill Muse ignored a previous head injury.
Maddie Mannion, a Delta State women’s basketball commit, was close with Ethan Dietz. She questions the actions of the coaching staff in response to his head injury.
Mannion believes the coaching staff failed her friend, who was more like a brother. The nearest hospital to Grayson College was less than four miles away and in her opinion, “the outcome could’ve been different had they taken a moment to check on him.” She, like many others, hopes justice will be served.
To make optics worse for Connors State, this is not the first incident of its kind.
Former Cowboys basketball player Buddy Hammer suffered a head injury during the playoffs in 2024. The timeline of events is eerily similar to what happened with Dietz.
Hammer also left the court after the blow to the head and returned exactly two minutes later. He was also wobbly, rubbed his head and shook off the cobwebs after he got back into the game.
— – (@Spicoli_____) December 4, 2025
Neither player received medical attention. In fact, head coach Bill Muse allegedly waved off the athletic trainer who tried to attend to Hammer. It is unclear as to whether he did or if he did the same for Dietz, but the broadcast video from Grayson College does not appear to show any such behavior. Doesn’t matter.
“‘Got cha back’ but he don’t really mean it,” wrote Maddie Mannion.
There may be too many commonalities between these two incidents for it to be a coincidence. That will likely be up for the courts to decide. Connors State allowed two different players to play with a head injury in a span of two years. One is no longer with us.